Sunshine On My Shoulders, Makes Me Happy
I love, love, love sunshine on my shoulders. Or my feet. Or my face. Anywhere.
But often what we love too much, becomes - or is - harmful.
I’m often on my soap box about sunscreen. Mostly because I’ve had horrendous habits over the years and it’s only in my 50s that I’e started behaving like an adult, at least as far as being in the sun goes.
Last spring, I bought a hat. That’s huge for me. I don’t like hats, but they cover parts of your head and neck that are easily missed by sunscreen.
I wear SPF 20 on my face as a minimum every single day.
I own several shirts with SPF in the fabric.
I ditched all my expired sunscreens (after getting burned, literally!) and now we all have mineral sunscreen with a high percentage of zinc.
None of these are monumental. But each of these small steps helps me stay safer in the sun and the mineral sunscreens do not damage the ocean reefs. The truth is, if I hadn’t had skin cancer removed from my shoulder last spring, I’d probably be outside without all these little things not with my head in the sand, but rather my toes in the sand and my face to the sky soaring up the vitamin d, UV-A and UV-B rays. Even if you try to apply sunscreen chance are it’s:
Not effective
Not applied properly
Not re-applied properly
I sound like your mother, right?
A recent study by the Environmental Working Group, reported in Marketwatch found that over 60% of them would not pass safety rules proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and that over 60% of them would not pass safety rules proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The American Academy of Dermatoogy recommends 1 ounce to cover your full body (think shot glass size) and to reapply after sweating, swimming or getting wet. How many of us do that - for real?
So what to do if you love the sun? After all, vitamin D is good for us, as is fresh air and time outside.
Have you tried non nano particle zinc sunscreens? Sure, they usually go on white (that’s the zinc). Sure, you’e got to really rub them in but when you do, you can see what’s been covered and what you’e left bare. And if you’ve worn zinc sunscreens or put it on your kids, you know it can come off on leather car interiors quite easily. Sit on a towel or a t-shirt, and if it still get on your interior, try these tips (spoiler: a melamine bar like Mr. Clean Eraser helps, just rub gently!)
You can use all the anti-aging products and get all the procedures you want, but the reality is if you are not using effective and cleaner sunscreen, none of those investments will work for very long, if at all. And that zinc oxide, we know it’s the safest AND most effective active sunscreen ingredient. Many sunscreens claim they use zinc oxide, but that can be as low as 2%. Read. The. Labels.
It’s recommended that zinc based sunscreens have at least 10% zinc. Beautycounter’s Countersun is one of the most consistently high rated sunscreen and our lotion contains 19% zinc, stick has 15.4% adn our mist has 14.5%.
These products have been featured in Women’s Health, Allure and our Countersun lotion gets EWG’s highest rating (1).
Of course, sunscreen is your last defense against the sun’s harmful rays - wear clothes, plan around the sun, don’t get burned, wear sunglasses, find shade, and bring shade.
Looking for safer sunscreens? Let’s chat about the Countersun products offered by Beautycounter. These are safer, outperform others and are easy to apply. Drop me a message or shop here.
